Empty quill deflector and guide for loom filling winder

ABSTRACT

A tough resilient quill deflector in the form of a rod or finger-like member is attached directly to a simple angle mounting bracket which in turn is secured to an existing part of the stripper chute. After initial adjustment on the sturdy mounting bracket, the deflector element is locked and may be struck by empty quills many thousands of times without breaking and without the need for further adjustment to compensate for wear. No moving parts are involved in the assembly with the exception of the flexing or bending of the deflector element. The deflector element contacts each empty quill being ejected from the shuttle and assures its proper orientation for entering the stripper chute.

[451 Oct. 7, 1975 United States Patent Blakely EMPTY QUILL DEFLECTOR AND GUIDE FOR LOOM FILLING WINDER Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon [75] James T Blakely Laurens S C Attorney, Agent, or FirmB. P. Fishburne, Jr.

ABSTRACT A tough resilient quill deflector in the form of a rod or finger-like member is attached directly to a simple Appl. No.: 496,884

angle mounting bracket which in turn is secured to an existing part of the stripper chute. After initial adjust- [52] US. 139/262 mem the Sturdy mounting bracket, the deflector 51 1m.1)03.i 1/04 element is locked and may be Struck y p y quills 5 Field f searchwm" 139/224, 255 2; 23/19, many thousands of times without breaking and without the need for further adjustment to compensate for wear. No moving parts are involved in the assembly with the exception of the flexing or bending of the de- [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS flector element. The deflector element contacts each empty quill being ejected from the shuttle and assures its proper orientation for entering the stripper chute.

Henderson et Alix et al.

U.S. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 10m 3,910,318

End UQEQ Nd nun .Ea NEEQ a am" US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 2 of2 EMPTY QUILL DEFLECTOR AND GUIDE FOR LOOM FILLING WINDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Unifil loom winder manufactured and sold by Leesona Corporation of Warwick, RI.

Essentially, the Unifil loom winder performs several important functions on a fly shuttle loom.

1. It holds a supply of filling yarn on an adjacent stand.

2. Automatically winds the filling yarn onto filling bobbins or quills.

3. Holds a reserve supply of fully wound quills on the loom.

4. Automatically transfers full quills or bobbins into the shuttlewhile ejecting spent bobbins therefrom.

5. Strips. off the bunch waste from each expelled bobbin.

6. Returns the cleaned bobbin to the winder section of the apparatus.

When the spent quills are ejected from the bobbin, they must be directed, butt end first, into the chute of the stripper mechanism where the feeler bunch yarn waste is automatically removed, prior to recycling the cleaned quills back to the winder section of the apparatus. If the spent quills do not enter the stripper mechanism butt end first, a jam-up or other malfunction will occur preventing the bunch waste from being removed, or preventing the clean quills from returning to the winder section of the apparatus. In this latter case, the loom will stop for lack of filling yarn wound on the quills.

Additionally, if spent quills are not properly directed to the stripper, they may wind up on the floor of the weaving room causing a serious safety hazard to workers. If they fall on the floor, the quills may pick up oil or other contaminants which later may be transferred to yarn, ultimately spoiling a section of cloth woven by the loom.

The present invention is concerned solely with improving and simplifying the means which deflects and guides spent quills, butt end first, into the stripper mechanism. Such-a means is provided on the Unifil loom winder and when properly adjusted and in a relatively new state functions well. However, after wear and after a spring component of the conventional mechanism loses tension, the result is that increasing numbers of quills will miss the transfer guard or deflector, going onto the floor or entering the quill stripper improperly. As time goes on, even frequent adjustments of the mechanism fails to overcome these difficulties.

Therefore, the objective of this invention is to completely solve the problems which have arisen in connection with deflecting and guiding empty quills into the stripper of the automatic loom filling winder.

The solution to the above problems by means of the invention is accomplished by greatly simplifying the quill deflecting and guidance means, namely by eliminating some 24 customary parts, including moving parts, and therefore eliminating the opportunities for wear to develop as well as eliminating the need for frequent adjustments. More particularly, a customary spring element which tends to lose its tension after the passage of time is eliminated entirely along with a number of additional parts. All of the parts are eliminated in the invention with the loss of essential function by the improved and simplified quill deflector. The improved device utilizes a single tough resilient deflector element or finger formed of molded nylon or equivalent material which can be flexed due. to contact with quills many thousands of times without injury or failure. This deflector element is attached fixedly to a sturdy bracket element which, in turn, is secured fixedly to an existing part of the stripper chute assembly. Once installed and initially locked in place, the improved quill deflector requires no adjustment or maintenance and its operational characteristics will not change even after continuous usage over a very long period. When the deflector element does finally fail, it is simply replaced by a new element at a very low cost and without necessitating stopping the loom for any significant period of time. The simplicity of the invention including the elimination of a number of parts renders it much more economical to manufacture and install than the customary arrangement and, as stated, substantially eliminates maintenance in connection with the quill deflector. Most importantly, the invention assures a consistently accurate deflection and guidance of the empmty quills, butt end first, into the stripper chute, as is vitally necessary for the successful operation of the loom filling winder.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the prior art components which are eliminated by the invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view showing the prior art quill deflector means including eliminated parts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the improved quill deflector element and its mounting means.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the quill deflector element separated from the mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partly diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the operation of the invention for deflecting and guiding spent quills into the stripper mechanism of a Unifil loom winder with surrounding parts omitted for simplicity and clarity of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail, and referring initially to FIG. 6, portions of the loom and the automatic loom filling winder referred to previously are shown. More particularly, the numeral 10 designates the magazine section of the apparatus into which fully wound bobbins 11 are dropped from the Winder section, not shown. The loom lay 12 on which the shuttle 13 travels is indicated, and when the transfer mechanism, not shown, causes a full bobbin or quill from the magazine 10 to enter the shuttle, a spent quill 14 therein is automatically ejected and drops freely toward the stripper unit 15 which removes the bunch waste from the spent quill before the latter is conveyed back to the winder section of the automatic loom filling winder.

As already pointed out, the invention proper consists of a tough bendable resilient finger-like deflector element 16, preferably formed of molded nylon or equivalent material. The deflector element is approximately semi-circular in cross section, FIG. 5, and has a flat upper face 17. It measures roughly six and one-half inches from end-to-end and is straight and substantially uniform in cross section throughout the major portion of its length, but has a short terminal end portion 18 which is slightly upturned at an angle of to to the straight body portion of the deflector. The deflector element 16 has a slick surface and is free of burns, flashing or rough projections of any sort. The element is springy in nature and is capable of repeatedly resisting the impacts of ejected quills 14 which strike the deflector element with considerable force.

The rearward or anchored end of deflector element 16 is enlarged into a head formation 19 having opposite flat faces 20 which are parallel and at right angles to the flat face 17. This head 19 has an elongated slot 21 formed therethrough longitudinalaly of the deflector element and this slot is adapted to receive a sturdy bolt 22 which also extends through an aperture in the vertical web 24 of a rigid L-shaped mounting bracket, whose lower right angular web 25 is rigidly attached by another bolt means 26 to an existing plate 27 of the stripper chute 27'. This stripper chute plate 27 is a standard component of the Unifil loom winder. It is provided with a slot 28 through which the resilient deflector element 16 projects and this slot allows adequate clearance for the bending movements of the deflecting element or finger.

When the invention is applied to the automatic loom filling winder, the element 16 is initially adjusted to proper length and angularity by means of the slot 21 and is then firmly clamped or locked to the L mounting bracket by the bolt means 22, and the other bolt means 26 is also tightly secured. No further adjustment of the invention is ordinarily necessary throughout its operational life.

As depicted in FIG. 6, each ejected empty quill 14 still possessing the usual bunch waste 29 falls into contact with the spring-like deflector finger 16, and this engagement causes each quill to be turned and guided in its flight so that its butt end 30 will first enter the chute of the stripper unit 15 forming a part of the automatic loom filling winder, as is well known. The deflector element 16 assures that the empty quills will always enter the stripper chute butt end first and also asssures that the proper entry will never be missed and that no quills will fall to the floor. The element 16 has precisely the necessary degrees of stiffness and springiness and the proper shape to carry out the intended function unfailingly for long periods of time without adjustment or other maintenance.

The relative simplicity and the increased economy of the invention can be more readily appreciated by comparison to the prior art indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. These figures depict the conventional device provided on the Unifil loom winder to serve the purpose of the present invention. As shown in these figures, many additional parts are required and all of the bracketed parts in FIG. 1 are eliminated by the invention. The nylon or plastic deflector element 16 replaces a wire transfer guard or deflector 31 of the prior art and in lieu of the numerous mounting components 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, the single rigid bracket 24-25 and bolt anchoring means 22 and 26 are utilized in the invention. Of particular importance is the elimination of a spring 37 associated with the transfer guard 31, which spring tends to lose its tension resulting in malfunctioning of the prior art deflector means after a relatively short time of usage. In both the prior art arrangements of the present invention, the deflector mechanisms are solidly based or mounted rigidly on the upper stripper chute tray 38 which is a solid structural part of the Unifil loom winder.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A deflector and guidance unit for ejected spent quills in an automatic loom filling winder comprising a mounting bracket attachable in fixed relation to a solid structural part of said filling winder, and an elongated spring-like quill deflector element attached solidly to said mounting bracket and projecting therefrom into the path of falling ejected quills and contacting such quills for the purpose of directing them butt end first into a stripper mechanism of an automatic loom filling winder, said deflector element formed of a tough durable resilient plastic, and said mounting bracket comprising an L-shaped bracket having a base web attachable to a horizontal tray of a stripper chute on an automatic loom filling winder and an upstanding right angular web having an aperture, said plastic deflector element having a slot in its base end and said slot adapted to register with said aperture, and a clamping bolt moans engageable through said slotted aperture to fixedly secure the deflector element adjustably to said bracket.

2. In an automatic loom filling winder, a stripper assembly having an inlet chute receiving ejected spent quills from a loom shuttle as fresh quills are transferred to the shuttle, and an ejected quill deflector on said stripper assembly near the mouth of the inlet chute,'

said deflector comprising a unitary slick surfaced molded plastic finger-like element, said element being resilient and being approximately semi-circular in cross section and having a substantially flat side which faces upwardly during use, said element being elongated and substantially straight throughout the major portion of its length and having a length of at least several inches, the width of the element being a small fraction only of the length thereof, said element having a slotted base end, and a clamping bracket means supporting the spent quill deflector element at a positive inclination above the mouth of said inlet chute adjustably and including a connector element engaging through the slot in the base of said element, the deflector element positioned near one side of the inlet chute of said stripper assembly in the path of movement of falling ejected quills and adapted to engage each ejected quill near the tip thereof and remote from the butt of the quill to thereby assure the faithful passage of each ejected quill butt end first into said inlet chute.

3. The structure of claim 2, and a short slightly upturned end portion on the free end of said deflector element arranged at an angle of approximately 15 to 20 above the substantially straight body portion of the deflector element.

4. The structure of claim 3, and said deflector ele ment formed of nylon. 

1. A deflector and guidance unit for ejected spent quills in an automatic loom filling winder comprising a mounting bracket attachable in fixed relation to a solid structural part of said filling winder, and an elongated spring-like quill deflector element attached solidly to said mounting bracket and projecting therefrom into the path of falling ejected quills and contacting such quills for the purpose of directing them butt end first into a stripper mechanism of an automatic loom filling winder, said deflector element formed of a tough durable resilient plastic, and said mounting bracket comprising an L-shaped bracket having a base web attachable to a horizontal tray of a stripper chute on an automatic loom filling winder and an upstanding right angular web having an aperture, said plastic deflector element having a slot in its base end and said slot adapted to register with said aperture, and a clamping bolt means engageable through said slotted aperture to fixedly secure the deflector element adjustably to said bracket.
 2. In an automatic loom filling winder, a stripper assembly having an inlet chute receiving ejected spent quills from a loom shuttle as fresh quills are transferred to the shuttle, and an ejected quill deflector on said stripper assembly near the mouth of the inlet chute, said deflector comprising a unitary slick surfaced molded plastic finger-like element, said element being resilient and being approximately semi-circular in cross section and having a substantially flat side which faces upwardly during use, said element being elongated and substantially straight throughout the major portion of its length and having a length of at least several inches, the width of the element being a small fraction only of the length thereof, said element having a slotted base end, and a clamping bracket means supporting the spent quill deflector element at a positive inclination above the mouth of said inlet chute adjustably and including a connector element engaging through the slot in the base of said element, the deflector element positioned near one side of the inlet chute of said stripper assembly in the path of movement of falling ejected quills and adapted to engage each ejected quill near the tip thereof and remote from the butt of the quill to thereby assure the faithful passage of each ejected quill butt end first into said inlet chute.
 3. The structure of claim 2, and a short slightly upturned end portion on the free end of said deflector element arranged at an angle of approximately 15* to 20* above the substantially straight body portion of the deflector element.
 4. The structure of claim 3, and said deflector element formed of nylon. 